Spatula holder and cleaner



Oct. 4, 1955 D. 0' SMITH SPATULA HOLDER AND CLEANER Filed March 50, 1955 Doras. 0. Sm/ih INVENTOR.

By gzmaoi izw United States Patent 2,719,313 SPATULA HOLDER AND CLEANER Doras 0. Smith, Portland, Oreg.

Application March 30, 1953, Serial No. 345,276

2 Claims. ((31. 15-118) The present invention relates to a highly practical, useful and improved article of manufacture which is expressly, but not necessarily, constructed and especially designed to function as a holder'and'cleaner for the blade of a spatula, pancake turner or the like.

Wipers and holders in the same category of invention, generally speaking, are primarily used in connection with crankcase measuring and so-called oil dip sticks and it may therefore be said to be old in the art to utilize waste and equivalent holders for wiping oil from the surface of the calibrated stick to assist in depth-measuring results. There are other devices which are actually used as scabbard-like holders for these devices and all sorts of absorbent wipers, usually of appropriate fabric, are employed so that when the stick is drawn between the coacting surfaces of the wipers the oil is satisfactorily wiped off in a well-known manner. The instant invention, while it functions along similar lines is, however, particularly well adapted for use, not as a dip stick cleaner, but rather as one which is preferably used in the restaurant on a corner of a grille or cooking stove and which is utilized in a manner to permit the spatula blade to be not only wiped but scraped clean for acceptable use by the discreet or careful cook.

It is an object of the invention to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon similarly constructed and performing article holding and wiping devices in the field of invention under consideration. It is like wise an objective to provide such a device which is not only simple and easy to handle in use but is such in construction that it will doubtless fulfill the respective requirements and needs of manufacturers, restaurant and equivalent cooks and restaurant owners and so on.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device in the class stated which need not necessarily be nailed down or otherwise fixedly clamped to a stove or grille surface. That is to say, the invention has to do with a device which is quite heavy and which, for the most part, will weigh some pounds more or less so that it will stay put and may be used on either the left front corner of the grille surface or right front corner depending on whether the cook is left-handed or right-handed and which is so constructed that it permits the blade of the spatula to be chucked and held therein when not in use or to be drawn either from left to right or right to left through the space between the jaw members for effective cleaning and scraping.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention a pair of complemental block-like members are used these have corresponding ends fashioned into jaws and opposed surfaces of the jaws are grooved to accommodate insertable and removable wipers, and a U-shaped assembling clamp is fitted into grooved portions of the respective blocks to maintain the same in assembled relationship.

Other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of drawings.

2,719,313 Patented Oct. 4, 1955 In the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a spatula holder constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a view of the same with portions in section and elevation;

V Figure 3 is a transverse cross-section taken on the plane of the line 33 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The over-all device may be said to be of so-called block-like form and sectional with the sections separably joined. Each section is in and of itself a substantially rectangular block and the upper one is denoted by the numeral 6 and the lower one by the numeral 8. Although not absolutely essential the upper block is slightly thinner in cross-section than the lower one. It is provided at one end with a socket 10 into which an extension 12 on the other section is telescopically fitted. This assists in piloting the blocks or sections together. The right-hand end portion of the respective blocks provide what are here described as jaws and these are denoted by the numerals 14 and 16. The opposed surfaces of the jaws are of curvate form and the convex surfaces thus provided are spaced apart and said surfaces 18 and 20 facilitate placing the blade portion A of the cooks spatula in place for cleaning or holding as the case may be. The edges adjacent to surfaces of the blocks are close together and portions of these edges are closely spaced as at 22 and 24 to serve as scrapers. There are lengthwise channels 26 and 28 cut in the adjacent faces and these serve as accommodation pockets for the wipers 3030. These wipers are of suitable compressible absorbent material and sometimes referred to as insertable and removable fillers. They are in opposed alignment and are in face-to-face contact so that the blade may be drawn between them in an obvious manner and pushed back and forth or otherwise manipulated for cleaning and wiping. The upper and lower faces of the blocks have lengthwise grooves 3232 formed therein and the ends have similar cooperating grooves 3434 to accommodate the attachable and detachable U-shaped clamp or clip 36. This may be springy but for the most part will be rigid. The bight portion 38 fits into the grooves 34-34 while the arm or limbs 40-40 fit removably into the grooves 32-32. It will be seen therefore that the channels 26 and 28 are charged with suitable wipers and the latter may be in the form of paired inserts so that they may be slipped into the channels in an endwise or other convenient manner. The stud 12 fits into the socket 10 and when the clip 36 is applied in the manner shown the blocks cooperate in providing a satisfactory holder and wiper as is obvious. The curvate surfaces 18 and 20 facilitate applying the blade between the jaws so that it may be thoroughly wiped and scraped and therefore kept clean and sanitary.

Referring again to the aforementioned outward lengthwise edges of the blocks or block members it is reiterated that the respective lengthwise top corner edges 24, 24 of the block member 8 and lengthwise lower corner edges 22, 22 of the block member 6 are intentionally arranged in close spaced parallelism and, since the block members are of incompressible metal, said top corner edges and lower corner edges 24 and 22, respectively, provide satisfactory spatula scrapers.

This device may be used in conjunction with ranges, french-fryers, steam tables and so-called restaurant grills and dish-up tables and so on and so forth. For the most part it stays put in whatever position occupied. This is due to the fact that the blocks are heavy cast iron or suitable heavy metal andthe device is intended to weigh 10 or more pounds so that it will not slip and slide around when in use. In many instances all that the user has to do is to swipe the blade between the jaws and it will be'cleaned 'otf in a jitf'y. As before stated tliedevice also serves as a holder so that when the spatula is-not in' use the blade is chucked between the jaws and held in an out of the way'posifion.

' From the foregoing, the" construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further'expla' panion incompressibleblock member superimposed upon the first block member, means separably' connecting said block members with one another, corresponding end portions of the respective block members having opposed convex surfaces, said surfaces flaring away from each other in lengthwise directions and the adjacent converging ends providing a restricted crotch for reception and placement of a spatula: or the like between the block members and transforming the cooperating portions of the block members into cooperating jaws, opposed surfaces of-the respective jaws having lengthwise groovesclosed at one end and open at their opposite ends, the latter ends opening through the stated crotch, and insertable and removable compressible filler members fitted in the respective grooves and opposed to and contacting each other and providing yieldable spatula wipers, the respective lengthwise top corner edges and respective lengthwise lower corner edges of said first and second block members respectively be'i'ng'iii' clo'sed spa'ce'd parallelism and providing incompressible spatula scrapers.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein one block member ispro'vitleo with a socket and the other block member is-provided with an. extension fitting telescopically into said socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS {23,3861 Eclitern ach et al. Feb. 6, 1872 977146 Mortimer l Dec. 6, 1910 1?,2051039 Singleton et al'. Nov. 14, 1916 1,281,394 Kennedy 001. 15, 1918 1,876,284 Fried Sept. 6, 1932 FOREIGN .PAT-ENTS 117,693 Great'Blitain l89l 823229; Switzerland Feb. 2, 1920 7381616" France Oct. 18, 1932 439,086 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1935 $86,013 Germany Oct. 14, 1933 

